Wards of the State
by Carbucketty
Summary: AU to the extreme. Matt, Mello, and Near are alone. They find themselves at Wilson's House for Orphaned and Abandoned Children, a seemingly acceptable place, where no one sees the slow, gradual abuse that these children suffer. How will they cope?
1. it's your ride

**pre-story notes, yo.** OMG, guys, my first attempt at something that's not a drabble. It's totally AU, but everyone needs a little AU every once in a while, right? Oh, and I'd appreciate reviews, yo.

* * *

On February 1st, 1998, Melina and James Jeevas left their baby boy alone for twenty minutes so they could buy him a birthday present, and ended up trapped in a flaming car instead. Natasha and Nikolas Keehl managed to help their oldest son escape their flaming home, only to lose their lives trying to save their youngest. Lucy River watched her son sleep, which he rarely did, and wondered if she would be better off without such a freakish child. 

These three children were not connected in any way. They did not know each other. Their fates were unlinked and they were each alone. Mail Jeevas, Mihael Keehl and Nate River were separate spirits, but they were soon to be brought together.

They would to be brought together by a building. A building with tall, wooden doors and a courtyard where the grass was always dead. They would be brought together by an orphanage.

* * *

Wilson's House For Orphaned and Abandoned Children was located between a run-down old hospital and a particularly morbid cemetery, as if to perfectly map out the three major arcs in the lives of the children staying at the orphanage: 

You're born.

You're orphaned.

You're dead.

The "Wilson" in question was Mr. Randall Wilson, a fairly wealthy man who had decided to take over this orphanage when its original owners passed away. He had been raised here after his parents had both died from cancer. Many thought him to be a kind man, worthy of respect. He _seemed _to smile a lot, especially at the children, and, above all---

Anyone who runs an orphanage _has _to be nice.

Right?

Below Mr. Wilson was a young woman named Katie Rainn. She was the caretaker of the children; she looked over every last one of them with a watchful eye. She was always ruffling their hair and saying kind things to them. She could constantly be heard saying, "I would adopt him myself… if I could" but she never had any intention of adopting one of the children. The House was her former home as well.

Mr. Wilson and Miss Rainn were respected. They were kindhearted, generous people who dedicated their lives to helping unfortunate children. They provided a roof, a meal, adequate schooling--- all the things that a child needed to grow into a satisfactory citizen.

No one saw, though, the children. They would look at them playing in the courtyard, but no one really _saw _them and their sad faces. Constantly overlooked, too overshadowed by the "kindhearted owner," Mr. Wilson, these children were neglected in a sense that even they didn't understand. Most of the children were much too young to understand much of what was going on. All they knew was that they had a bed to sleep in; having a bed was a good thing. Some of the children would feel a soft aching in their hearts, an empty feeling, but they wouldn't know why. Others were lucky. They didn't have this feeling. They had pushed it away and forgotten about it…

Mail Jeevas was one of the lucky ones.

* * *

Eight-year-old Mail Jeevas battled a level thirteen Oddish with his incredibly well-trained Charizard. He let out a fiendish little giggle as the Oddish fainted. 

"He won't tell me anything, so I didn't really know what to do with him. Well, he did tell me one thing: his family just moved to the U.S. about a month ago. They hadn't even enrolled him in school yet." Officer Lester said, shooting a series of concerned glances in Mail's direction.

"From where?"

"London, England."

"Mmhmm. How exactly did you find him?"

"He was stealing batteries from my wife's shop. She asked him where his parents were and he said, 'Dead, I guess.' That was a couple of days ago… Honestly, I just figured that it was best to go ahead and bring him here…"

"How were they killed?"

"He wouldn't tell me. I assumed he didn't know."

Mr. Wilson left his seat behind his desk and walked over to Mail. "Son, do you want to tell me what happened to your parents?" he asked, with a forced sort of kindness that the child saw right through.

"Not really." Mail replied lazily, sinking even further into his seat. "Am I going to be living here?"

"It seems so, yes."

Mail's mouth twisted into a frown. "Okay," he said, shutting his Gameboy off. "I'm kind of sleepy."

Mr. Wilson and Officer Lester exchanged glances.

"I suppose that's it, then." Mr. Wilson said. "Thank you for your time, Officer."

Officer Lester gave Mail an awkward pat on the shoulder and excused himself.

"Alright, then… Mail. What kind of a name is that anyway?" Mr. Wilson asked. "Mail… Jeevas."

"Mum picked it out, they always told me." Mail said simply, shrugging.

"I've always thought limey's were weird. We'll have to get rid of that accent, son. I don't like it."

The door to the office opened slowly. "We got another little'un?" Katie asked, stepping into the office. "Oh, isn't he reasonably adorable! What's your name, sweetie?"

"Mail Jeevas."

"Hmm. Odd."

"Yes, very odd." Mr. Wilson agreed. "Try to think of him a normal name while you're getting him settled, will you?"

Katie grabbed Mail by the sleeve of his shirt. "Come on, then! You're gonna have a whole room to yourself." she said, pulling him into the hallway. "You know, I grew up in this orphanage. Mr. Wilson adopted me. I mean… that's what it felt like, anyway. He took me in after I was old enough to leave. My parents died when I was five. … A fire. What happened to yours?"

Mail felt a little overwhelmed by Katie's forward nature.

"It's okay, sweetie, you can tell me."

"… I don't know what happened to them. They left to get me a birthday present. They didn't come back."

"Oh, I see. So, you just left home?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, well. You have a new home now! I see you did a bit of packing before running away."

"Yeah. A little."

"Why didn't you get Officer Lester to take you home?"

"We haven't been here long. I couldn't remember how to get back."

"Oh, well, maybe you'll remember soon enough. Here's your room, Mail! … Hmm, I was supposed to give you a normal name, wasn't I? What are we going to call you…? … Matt! That's normal enough, right? We'll call you Matt. Is that okay? Mr. Wilson has a thing about odd names."

"Guess so." Mail shrugged.

"Matt it is, then! Anyway, this is your room. You'll be sharing it as soon as other kids come in her. Just make yourself at home--- dinner is served at six; you're free until then. Mr. Wilson will come ask you some questions later, but just settle down for now! Bye, Matt!"

Mail was by no means a stupid kid, so he certainly knew from the get-go that not a soul in that orphanage gave a flying damn about him or his wellbeing. He hadn't fallen for Katie's bright smile. She had simply renamed him and pushed him aside.

(What Mail didn't grasp, however, was the extremity of this unloving environment.)

Mail knew good and well that his parents had probably died in some accident that had left them unidentifiable, which basically meant that he was a nobody now. A nobody in a strange county with no family to speak of.

He didn't feel like crying anymore.

--- but his stomach just kept twisting up in knots…

"Hey, new kid?" he heard from the other side of his door. It was a girl speaking.

Mail opened the door to reveal a tiny, smiling, blond-haired girl.

"Yeah?" he said.

"My name's Linda. I wanted to meet you. What's your name?"

"Mail. … Actually, no, it's Matt now. They thought Mail was weird."

"Oh, well, they're both nice names! How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Me, too!"

"How long have you been here?"

"Three years. Where are you from?"

"London."

"Oh, that's so cool! Can I come in?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Mail had no idea why this girl was so fascinated with him, but he didn't mind too much. Talking to her wasn't exactly horrible, but she _did _ask an ungodly amount of questions about almost anything.

"So, what's your middle name?" (Winston.)

"You in here by yourself?" (Yeah.)

"Does it bother you?" (So far, no.)

"What are you playing?" (Pokemon Red.)

"Is it fun?" (Very much. Would you like to play?)

"Yes!"

The questions halted as Linda tapped away on the Gameboy, whining whenever she lost a battle and giggling whenever she increased Mail's Pokemon repertoire. "You're really nice, you know." she said, handing Mail his Gameboy after her gaming urges were satisfied.

"Uh. Thanks. You are, too."

"So, do you want to be my new best friend?"

"… Uhm, I guess?"

"Yay!" Linda threw her arms around Mail's neck. "Thank you!"

"… No problem…"

Linda promptly dragged Mail to the common room to introduce him to the rest of the children, which he didn't particularly care about doing.

"Should I introduce you by Matt or Mail…?"

"Matt… I guess."

He figured he should start getting used to his new name.

"Everyone, this is Mai--- Matt! He just got here today."

He got a few friendly waves, but most of the kids didn't seem too enthused about meeting him. He wanted to assure them that the feelings were mutual.

One girl, however, wasted no time in sweeping him up in a fierce, tight hug. "My name is Misa. Linda and I will do everything we can to make sure you feel right at home here!" she said. Her blonde hair tickled his face.

Misa was assumedly the oldest child at the orphanage, probably around fourteen years old. The other children seemed to view her a sort of mother-figure, a role that she was quite enthusiastic about playing.

Mail liked her enough but couldn't quite say that he wanted to replace his mother so quickly.

He didn't complain, though, when she held his hand while they walked to the dining hall to get dinner.

Misa and Linda stayed by Mail's side all through dinner, taking him to sit at the table right in the middle of the dining hall.

"We have classes everyday. Your teacher is Miss Lidner. She's very nice. She teaches the little kids. My teacher is Mr. Yagami." Misa's cheeks flushed when she said this. "He's the best teacher I've ever had…" she trailed off. Linda nudged her. "Oh, anyway! On class days, breakfast is served at 7:30. On weekends, it's served at 10:00. Lunch is served at noon on class days and at 2:00 on weekends. We're supposed to be in our rooms by 9:00, but you can go to sleep whenever. You can go to church with Katie on Sundays, if you want to." Misa gave Mail a winning smile, and her silence indicated that her run-down of the orphanage was done.

"You done?" Mail asked, pulling out his Gameboy.

"For the most part, yeah. You'll get to meet Miss Lidner tomorrow. I think you'll like her."

"As much as you like Mr. Yagami, Misa?" Linda asked.

Misa blushed and ruffled Mail's hair.

Mail frowned. His batteries were going dead.

* * *

**Notes and stuff**: Random idea that's been playing around in my head for a while. This will probably be Matt-centric, but more stuff involving other characters will happen through the course of the entire thing. Some characters have yet to be introduced or even mentioned. 

Since I didn't have the heart to make Watari a heartless butthole, I decided to make up my own villain and his sidekick. XD

I wanted to completely break away from the Wammy thing, so this fic is based in the U.S. This is AU, after all, and I can do whatever I please. This is the truth.


	2. guilt that will crush me and in a choir

**pre-story notes, yo. **Wow. Chapter two. Crazy. Anyway. There's going to be _implied rape, but nothing graphic, because I just don't do that. _That's about it. Another OC will be introduced in this chapter that you're supposed to hate. _Hate him, I say_!

* * *

"Another brat," Mr. Wilson sighed, carelessly tossing Mail Jeevas's papers into a manila folder. "Just another waste of space. What did you name him?" 

"Matt." Katie responded, toying with a piece of her hair. "Not Matthew. Just Matt."

"Hmm. That's better than Mail."

"He's a lovely boy. I'd adopt him if I could... Oh! I guess we need to tell Halle about him, right? And I'll tell Officer Lester that I found out at least a little bit about his parents."

"What did you find out?"

"Mmm, not much." Katie reached for the phone and punched the appropriate numbers. "Officer Lester? Yes, yes. Well, he _did _talk, but just a little bit. He says his parents went out to buy him a birthday present and didn't come back. He says he doesn't remember how to get back to his house. Yes. Good night, Officer."

"Poor idiot couldn't even remember where his own home was?" Mr. Wilson asked.

"Yeah. Oh, well," Katie giggled. "I'm going to bed now."

"Hmm. Make sure all the brats are in their rooms."

* * *

_Remember, you're Matt today_. said a tiny little voice in the back of the sleeping boy's head. _You're not Mail anymore. _

Matt's eyes shot open.

"Matt, wake up!"

Misa was hitting the door. How could someone be so energetic this early in the morning? "It's 7:00! Let's go get in the breakfast line!" she hollered, hitting the door again.

"The door's unlocked." Matt groaned.

Misa opened the door and stuck her head in. "Come on, Matty!"

Matt let out another groan and rolled out of bed. His eyes burned as the light hit them. "Ow, God..." he mumbled, shading his eyes from the light.

"You okay?" Misa asked.

"Yeah... The light just hurts my eyes. It's nothing."

Misa grabbed Matt's hand and pulled him in the direction of the cafeteria. "Maybe you should see a doctor about that!" she said, basically dragging him through the corridors, rushing by other children. "Maybe there's something wrong with you."

Matt shrugged.

The line was almost completely full. The smell of the food made Matt feel rather sick. "I don't want to eat today." he said, glancing at the omelets that the other kids were carrying back to their tables.

"Oh, come on! Linda's already got us a seat saved! Let's not put it to waste."

Misa was a frustratingly wonderful girl. Slightly annoying, but never too much to stand. She smiled a lot, Matt noticed, and he wondered why. Matt, on the other hand, didn't smile very much and never had. Cursed with being a bit too mature for his age, he allowed his young mind to get stressed and overwhelemed, and then made matters worse by pushing the issue away.

Matt didn't eat breakfast. He picked at it and pushed it around until Misa was finished eating.

"You should go get ready for class, Matt." Linda suggested. She, of course, was already ready. Her hair was tied up in a different ribbon than it was yesterday. Matt had the feeling that she probably prided herself on these ribbons.

"Yeah, I'll go get ready. I, uhhh... No, never mind."

"S'wrong, Matt?" Misa asked, picking up on the curious expression on Matt's face.

"This is the only other shirt I packed..."

"Oh." Misa said, nodding. "Okay, then, come with me!" She grabbed Matt's hand and pulled him out of the dining hall; he was beginning to get used to being tugged around. "I'll find you something to wear today! Katie'll definately have to buy you some more clothes..."

They went into her room. Her roommates, Alison and Jeanae, giggled and fawned over Matt while Misa dug around.

"Hmm, well, I have this old shirt that's probably small enough to fit you. It's from a long time ago." Misa tossed Matt the shirt; it was a longsleeved thing with black and white stripes.

"You'll look very nice in that, Matt." Alison cooed, rubbing Matt's hair. She was ignored.

Matt gave Misa a quiet 'thank you' and went off to get ready for classes. He washed up quickly and pulled the shirt Misa had provided for him over his head. It was a small-ish shirt, for Misa at least, and it fit Matt's tiny body quite well. He liked how the black and white didn't look funny with his red hair. Linda was waiting for him outside the bathroom. She took his hand and pulled him into the direction of the classroom.

"This day is going to be so fun!" she bubbled, but Matt was ignoring her. She continued to ramble on with nonsensical nothings, skipping around the corridor without a care in the world.

Matt followed her silently, letting his mind wander. _This is home now. Home._

His wall of indifference started to crack--- he felt a shred of guilt: _If it hadn't been my birthday, my parents wouldn't have left. My fault, all my fault..._

"Matt?" Linda's voice interuppted his train of thought.

"Yeah?"

"Classroom's right here."

Matt peeked into the door. There were five tables with five seats around them. At the front of the room was a teacher's desk--- and a teacher.

"Miss Linder." Linda said, pointing at the teacher briefly before dragging Matt to one of the tables.

"Hello, there!" Miss Lidner said. "You must be Matt."

Miss Lidner was pretty and young. Matt thought she seemed very nice. She smiled a lot, but there was a serious look in her eyes that made her whole demeanor seem a bit harsh at times.

"Yeah, I'm Matt."

"Well, Matt, it's wonderful to meet you. I went ahead and got you're supplies for you." Miss Lidner dug around behind her desk briefly before producing a couple of notebooks, some pencils, and text books.

Matt took the supplies silently.

"That should be enough for now." Miss Lidner said, moving back to her desk.

Linda wrote Matt's name in all of his books, stacked them according to size, and pushed them over to Matt. "There you go. Now you're all set."

More children started piling into the classroom, laughing, bouncing around happily. Miss Lidner let them socialise a bit before taking her place in front of the class. "Good morning, children!" she said.

"Good morning, Miss Lidner!" the children responded, sounding something like a poorly rehearsed choir.

And then Matt zoned out.

His eyes watered a bit, still adjusting to the bright light of the classroom. He let out a small sigh of relief when Miss Lidner turned off the lights, but only felt that hot, wet burning in his eyes again when she turned on the TV and started a playful science video about the laws of gravity. He put his head down and let his sleeves dry his eyes.

"Matt? Is everything okay?" Matt had expected that Linda would start bombarding him with questions, butit was Miss Lidner who was asking this. "Do you need to step outside?"

"No." Matt looked at his teacher. "No." he said again.

"Oh, are you crying?" Miss Lidner asked, softly rubbing Matt's hair.

"No. My eyes hurt. Your classroom is brighter than all the other rooms. And the video hurts them."

"Your eyes hurt? Does this happen a lot?"

"Yes. I never told my parents about it or anything. Figured it would go 'way."

"So, your eyes are sensitive to light... Well, you can just listen to the video. We'll talk about this later with Mr. Wilson. You should probably see a doctor."

Matt listened to the video and ignored Linda's worried questions for the remainder of class.

* * *

Matt tapped away on his Gameboy with one hand and attempted to solve a puzzle with his other. The other children were rather impressed with his ability to focus on both tasks at the same time. He was bored, though, and was only in the playroom because Linda setting up the furniture in all the doll houses. 

Misa was sitting against the wall with one of the older boys. She was giggling and smiling a lot, and Matt wondered if Misa liked this boy more than she liked Mr. Yagami. Their conversation turned very serious soon enough, or so Matt gathered from the fact that they had stopped giggling and smiling.

Matt focused on his game and puzzle again, but the sound of a loud _smack _got his attention. He looked up quickly: the boy was standing above Misa with his hand raise. The side of her face was turning red.

"Hey!" one of the other kids yelled. "Hey, don't hit her!"

"Shut up!" the boy returned. "She's just a stupid bitch!"

Misa climbed to her feet and started to walk away, but the boy grabbed her wrist. "What's your problem? You're the oldest girl in the orphanage and you're acting like a complete baby."

Misa's lower lip trembled. "Let go..." she whispered, trying to pull away.

The boy smacked her again.

Matt's wall of indifference was completely destroyed at this point. Before he could think twice, he hurled the puzzle he was working on at the boy with fairly impressively aim; one of the corners hit his back. He let out a painful screech and turned around. "You punk!" he yelled, taking a few furious steps towards Matt.

"Don't touch him!" Misa screeched, jumping on the boy's back and pushing him onto the ground.

The whole playroom fell into absolute chaos. Matt gave the boy a swift kick to the side while Misa tried to prevent him from causing any harm to anyone. Frightened children ran about everywhere, screaming and wailing.

"Get the fuck off me, Misa!"

Matt was just about to give the boy another kick when an unfamiliar man came in, wrapped his arms around Misa's waist and pulled her away from the boy. "Do not move one inch, Patrick." the man said. "I mean it."

Patrick didn't move. The man released his hold on Misa.

"Mr. Yagami..." she said, blushing furiously.

"I saw the whole thing. Will the three of you please come with me to Mr. Wilson's office?"

Patrick let out a string of obscenities. Misa burst into tears and latched onto Mr. Yagami's arm. Matt was back to being completely indifferent. The three children followed Mr. Yagami to Mr. Wilson's office, where the situation was explained very clearly.

"I don't know what they were talking about, but something that was said made Patrick angry enough to hit Misa. This is unacceptable."

"And where does this leave Matt?" Mr. Wilson asked.

Mr. Yagami twitched slightly. "Sir... You're missing the most important issue: Patrick hit Misa two times. Matt was involved, yes, but---"

"They should all be punished, do you agree?"

"I---"

"And I have always been very fair with the punishment I issue to the children. Thank you very much for bringing this to my attention. You may go now. I'm sorry to have kept you here longer than was needed."

"I really would like to---"

"Goodbye, Mr. Yagami."

Mr. Yagami and Mr. Wilson stared each other down for at least a minute before Mr. Yagami finally left the office without another word.

"Now. I shall solve this my way: let's try to find a solution to this problem that gives everyone what they want. Misa, I assume that you would like for Patrick to stop hitting you, right?"

"... Yes."

"Matt, you obviously want Patrick to stop hitting Misa... Correct?"

"Yeah."

"And Patrick--- what is it that you want exactly?"

"For Misa to just do what I tell her to do."

"Okay, good, good. Well, it's very obvious that, if Misa does what Patrick tells her to do, then she won't get hit anymore. Problem solved."

Misa lifted her trembling hand to her burning cheek. "... Thank you, Mr Wilson." she said; her words were so soft that they almost didn't reach Matt's ears.

"But, of course, everyone must be punished for their displays of violent behaviour... I'll let you off easy. No dinner tonight. You may leave."

Patrick grabbed Misa's hand and violently pulled her out Mr. Wilson's office. Matt slowly followed. He wanted to ask Misa what was going on, but Patrick dragged her away so quickly, he didn't get the chance to.

A little later, she came out of Patrick's room, crying and hugging herself.

"S'wrong?" Matt asked her, over and over again.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm just so happy... Patrick loves me." Misa replied, pulling Matt into a hug and crying into his shirt.

But Matt wasn't stupid.

* * *

**notes and stuff**: Review, please. And if you add this to your alert... then please be sure to review to. It takes motivation to write, seriously. Everyone on this site should know that. Reviews make me want to update. Thanks, guys. (:  
Oh and:  
Mello shall be introduced soon, hopefully. Yay. 


	3. mother, i want to

"Halle, I know neither one of us have been teaching there very long, but don't you think that there's something odd---"

"Light, please. You're thinking about it too much. The children had a fight. It happens all the time. You're concerned, I understand that, but..." Halle took a sip of her coffee in order to avoid finishing her sentence. Yes, sometimes she did think that Mr. Wilson's behaviour was a bit strange and that Katie was sometimes too rough with the children, but... what could she do?

She didn't _want _the children to hurt. If they were being abused overtly, she would act without thought. She loved every last child at that orphanage, but this deep love for them often times called for her to try to forget about these emotions. She wanted a child of her own so badly, but--- 

"Stephen called me from the police station. Officer Lester has this theory that Matt will talk to Stephen because he's younger and would be 'easier to relate to' or something. I don't know. The poor kid didn't talk much at all, except when his eyes started hurting him. They're sensitive to light."

"Maybe he has photophobia." Light suggested, stirring his tea.

"Maybe..." Halle sighed, running her hands through her hair. "I feel so sorry for him... I feel so sorry for all of them. I could possibly imagine living in a place like that... One of the kids was adopted today. Imagine how the ones who are left behind feel. I wish I could---"

"You can't adopt all of them, Halle."

"I know, but how can I just _pick _one? Pick a child like I'm picking a piece of meat? It's almost dehumanizing for the children, I think... I love them all so much; I couldn't stand to choose." Halle let out a frustrated groan when her cellphone went off. "Damn thing never stops for a minute...Oh, it's Stephen! ... He's asking if I know what Matt's real name is...?"

"They _renamed _him?"

_i don't know. won't he tell you? _Halle texted back.

_No, _was the reply she was expecting. _He won't tell me anything. _

---

A few days later, Matt was greeted by yet another unfamiliar man. 

"Hey there, Matt." he said, giving his warmest smile. "I'm Officer Gevanni. You can call me Stephen."

"You're a police officer. Like the other man." 

"Yeah. I just want you to sit down and talk to me for a few minutes. Can you do that?"

"Sure."

"So, your name is Matt Jeevas?"

"Not Matt." Matt said, but then gave Stephen a look that said _I didn't mean to say that_.

"What's your name, then...?" Stephen asked.

Matt shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Is that what you wanted to ask me?

"No, uhm..." Stephen paused a bit, pulling out his cellphone and sending a quick text to Halle in regards to Matt's name. "No, I was wanting to ask you when you're birthday is," he said, feeling that saying that was better than "I want to ask you about the night your parents left and never came back."

"February 1st." 

"Mmmhmm..." Stephen frowned a bit; he clearly remembered a very brutal car accident that had occured on that day. The two occupants of the car had been left unrecognizable. Were those Matt's parents? Letting out a sigh, he asked, "Are you sure you don't remember where you lived before coming here?"

"No."

"You can't remember the street name, or...?"

Stephen seemed nice, so Matt decided to actually put some effort into remembering where he once lived. "It was near... a park, I remember. I just... don't remember the name of the street we lived on. If I saw our house... I would know... Uhm, I remember that there was a statue of a lady in the park. And there was a church...? Yeah. At the end of the street." 

"Oh... Yes, I know that area. It's just about twenty minutes from here. So, if you'll just come with me, we'll drive around that area and you can look for your house, okay?" Stephen took Matt to the police car, which Matt was rather excited about riding in. He started the car and attempted to make conversation with the young boy. "So, how old are you, Matt?" 

"Eight."

"Mr. Wilson tells me you're from London."

"Yes. It's nice there. I miss it." 

Silence. Stephen cleared his throat. 

"Why don't you tell me something about yourself?" Matt asked. His voice was flat and slightly tired. He sounded a bit... bored. 

"What?"

"I don't know about anyone else. Everyone's always asking about me. I hate talking about myself."

Stephen was bit shocked. There was something _about _this boy, the way he talked, the way his mind seemed to work. It was almost disturbing. Had Halle noticed this? She always did have an eye for those who turned out to be geniuses... 

"Well, I'm Stephen Gevanni... I'm twenty-six... I... Matt, really, do I have to? This is supposed to be about you." 

Matt smirked a bit. The two of them sat in silence until Stephen pulled onto Forest Street. "Yeah, I remember all this now." Matt said, looking around. "Our house is... that one. The second on the left." 

Stephen pulled into the driveway of Matt's house. "Hmmm... Something's not right..."

The front door was slightly ajar. 

"Matt, stay in the car, please." 

Matt didn't have to be told twice. He closed his eyes to avoid the pain that the sun was bringing them. Stephen seemed a little worried, he thought. 

But, honestly--- who breaks into a house in the middle of the _afternoon_? Matt thought that Stephen was being stupidly careful, but it didn't matter much. That wasn't his home anymore. 

---

"That's the house I grew up in..." Stephen said on their way back to the orphanage. He shook his head; perhaps he hadn't meant to say that. "Whoever broke in took most everything there was to take. They must have just taken advantage of the situation. I'm really sorry, Matt."

"It's no problem." Matt replied, turning his Gameboy on. "I mean, it's not your fault or anything. I live in the orphanage now. A lot of stuff has changed in my life. I'm getting used to it. They tell me my accent's going away. I don't notice it."

"They told me your accent was pretty thick when you first arrived. You want to keep it?"

"No. It reminds me of my parents."

(Then maybe it was best for him to get rid of it.)

"Lester was hoping that we would find some information about some other family members you might have. Don't you have any aunts or uncles back in England? Grandparents, maybe?"

"We've always been alone." 

"Oh... well. We're here. Would you like me to walk you inside?"

Matt felt, but only for a brief second, that Stephen genuinely cared for him. (And that he was the only adult on this planet that did so.) "If you want to." he said, successfully pulling off an apathetic expression and a lazy shrug. 

They climbed out of the car. 

"I don't think anyone will ever adopt me." Matt said, somewhat randomly. 

Stephen looked a bit shocked. "Why... would you say that?" 

"Because a couple adopted Winnie today. Winnie's really sweet. People want to adopt sweet kids. I'm not the kind of kid that people want to adopt. My parents always thought I was strange, but they... they tried, and they were the only ones I had, and I'm not going to get a second chance, and..."

Was Matt _crying_? Apathetic, indifferent Matt? 

(Yes. Yes, he was.)

Matt buried his face in his hands, his little shoulders shaking from his sobs. This was the first time he'd cried in a very, _very _long time. He sat on the stairs that led to the front door of the orphanage, his sobs becoming audible and almost violent. He felt a strong arm go around his shoulders. 

"Matt, I don't _really _know what to say, but---"

"Why did they have to _go_? Mum was so excited about her new house... It was her dream house, she said, and Dad... Maybe Dad would put off that divorce for a few years. This was supposed to _help us_ and now they're just _dead_. Maybe... We don't even _know for sure if they're dead or not_." He paused and wiped his eyes. "I've only been here for a little while, you know? ... And I'm waiting for this place to start feeling like home. Have you met Misa? Sometimes I like to pretend she's my mom." 

Stephen didn't know what to say to the trembling child. The air was cold and the sun was setting, though, so he decided to gently change the subject: "... Let's go inside, Matt. It's too cold for you to be sitting out here. You might get sick." 

Matt nodded and quickly wiped his eyes again. "Sorry, Officer..." he mumbled. "Thank you for trying." He pushed the buzzer and Katie arrived to open the door momentarily. 

"Good evening, Officer Gevanni!" Katie pulled Matt into the orphanage by the neck of his shirt. "You run along now, Matt. You're about to miss dinner." 

The door slammed in his face. Sighing and wondering what Stephen and Katie were talking about, he dragged himself to the dining hall. He wasn't very hungry, so he just took his usual seat between Misa and Linda without going through the line. 

"We've missed you!" Linda said, twirling a large mass of spagetti around her fork. "Where did you go?" 

"To my house." 

"Who was the man you went with? I don't think I've ever seen him before."

Misa took it upon herself to answer that question: "That's Stephen Gevanni. He's Miss Lidner's friend. He visits her sometimes. I've never talked to him before, but he seems really nice."

"He is." Matt said, but he didn't say much after that.

---

"Halle," Stephen sighed, running his hands through his hair, "that boy is so pitiful." 

"But did he _talk _to you?" 

"Yeah... He cried. He said some things that made me think he was family was having problems. ... You know the house they were living in...? It's the same one I grew up in."

Halle gave Stephen's knee a comforting pat. "You've made such an incredible amount of progress with him. He actually talked to you. I've been trying to get through to him, but... I don't know... The way he handles things is so... strange for someone his age. It's like he's an eight-year-old with a thirty-year-old's mind."

"Yeah... I agree."

"He's an amazingly gifted child. He's grasping material that most of the other students are struggling with... I'm thinking of seeing if we can place him with Light." 

"Halle... Don't alienate him anymore than he already is. Keep him with kids his own age. Maybe it'll help him."

"But he should be _challenged_." 

"I doubt he wants it." 

"... What?"

"I just don't think he _wants_ to be challenged."

---

Misa came out of Patrick's room crying again that night, like she had every night since the fight happened. 

Matt waited for her. "You can tell me what's wrong, Misa. You can tell me what happens in there. It's not like I'll tell anyone or anything..." He tried to pretend like he wasn't _that _concerned, but he was, because--- _Misa was like his mother_ and no one wants to see their mother cry. 

"I can't tell you, Matt." Misa sighed. "But, really... it's nothing! I promise. It's about time for you to get in bed. Do you want me to tuck you in? You've got a big science test coming up tomorrow; you need to get your rest!"

Matt would always just shrug, but he did love it when Misa tucked him in. 

---

**notes and stuff**: Okay, I guess it's kinda looking like Matt's going to develop an Oedipus complex with Misa. Has anyone ever read that interview about what the lyrics for _Tiny Dancer _by Elton John mean? That's the vibe I'm giving myself. 

Yeah, I'm pretty unsure how much Light's going to be in this one. I don't want this story to _just _focus on the kids; I want a strong cast of adult characters as well. Halle, Stephen, Light... Yeah. So, I totally have Mello's introduction written... and Near's... XD Great fun, great fun. 

Writing for bb!Matt is quite fun, because I like making Matt a little warped... so, making him an angsty and intelligent child is fun to write. XD 

Like I said before: **If you're going to put this on your alert, please review. **Thanks to all the people who have reviewed so far! Right now I'm swamped with English work, I just auditioned for a musical, and I have a crapload of rehearsals for the musical I'm currently _in_, but I'll definately try to get another update in soon! Thanks for reading, guys!


	4. an inside joke, love is coming home

**pre-story notes, yo. **Mello! Yeah. That's what's up. Enjoy, please. 

* * *

"Okay, Mihael, come in here with me---"

"Don't touch me!" 

Stephen let out a slight yelp as his left shin received a swift kick. 

"Mihael, please!" he pleaded, showing a bit of weakness that the enraged child took advantage of. 

"No!" the tiny mass of blonde hair and anger yelled, dashing down the corridors of the orphanage and out of Stephen's sight.

"Dammit!" Stephen groaned, hitting the door to Mr. Wilson's office three times. "Will one of you come out here and help me?" Though he was normally a very calm person, he was slowly losing his temper. 

"Something wrong?" Katie asked, opening the door. She was smirking slightly. 

"The boy ran off. I don't know where he went, but he's somewhere around the orphanage. He's so angry... You all are going to have one helluva time with this one." Stephen said, ignoring the pain in his shin. He limped into the office. "I don't really think chasing him down is going to do much good. Check the cameras and give him a little bit of time to calm down."

"Is it this little blonde child?" Katie asked, looking at one of the moniters. "He just went in Matt's room." 

"Jesus Christ..." Mr. Wilson muttered. "Jesus H. Christ."

* * *

"Uh, who are you?" Matt asked, clicking his Gameboy off. 

"None of your business."

"Well, you're in _my _room."

The intrusive boy gave Matt a curious sort of look, one that seemed to say _I would very much enjoy punching your face in right about now. Stop talking. _"... My name is Mihael. They want me to stay here. I ran away from my other orphanage. Some cops found me. "

"Why?"

"Because I didn't like it there. I've been to six orphanages in the last month."

"How come?"

"Because they always say that I'm too much trouble and send me somewhere else. I fight a lot."

"Do you always win?"

"Yeah. Always."

"What kind of a name is Mihael?" 

Mihael just shrugged. "I don't know. My parents liked it, I guess. What's _your _name?"

"Matt."

"Pssht. What a stupid name. It's boring."

Feeling rather defensive at this point, Matt said, "Whatever. It's not my real name. They renamed me because my real name was too weird for them. They probably won't rename _you._"

Mihael sat down on the floor and hugged his knees to his chest. "What's your real name, then?" he asked. 

"I'm not telling you."

"I want them to rename me."

Matt decided to join Mihael on the floor. "Maybe they will, if you ask them nicely. Maybe they'll think your name sounds too foreign or something. Where are you from?"

"My family was Russian. You kind of have a British accent. Was your family from England?"

"Yeah. They were." 

The door opened abruptly, hitting the two boys on the back. "Mihael, _why _did you run away from me?" It was Stephen. He looked very angry. 

"Stephen!" Matt cried, giving the man a quick hug. 

"Hey, Matt. I see you've already met your new roommate." Stephen said, giving Matt's shoulder a soft pat. "It looks like you two were getting along alright before I came in here, I guess. Mihael, Mr. Wilson would like to meet with you. Will you _please _just come with me for a few minutes?" 

Mihael shrugged and gave Matt a quick grin before departing. Stephen gave Matt another pat on the shoulder. "I'll see you later, kid."

"Are you going to stop by during lunch today?" 

"Yeah, if I ca---"

"_Hello_! I'm _waiting_!" Mihael hollered from down the corridor. 

Stephen sighed. "I gotta go tend to that one. Bye, Matt." 

Matt gave Stephen a small wave and decided to head over to Misa's room to see what she was up to. It was almost time for breakfast, so he was shocked that she wasn't already banging on his door and screaming her lungs out. "Misa?" he asked, giving her door a light knock. "Misa, you awake?" 

"Yeah, I'm awake... Come on in, Matty..." 

Matt opened the door slowly and took a few cautious steps inside. "Everything alright? Why's it so dark in here?" 

"I don't know... Turn on the light if you want to."

Misa was still in bed, a pillow covering her face. Matt could tell that she was curled up in a fetal position by the way the covers were crumpling around her body. "Allison was adopted yesterday," she said, her words coming out a slow, careful pace.

"I know." Matt said, sitting on the bed that Allison once occupied. "I know, I saw her leave."

"They say it's so rare... for people to want a teenager. But that couple _did _want a teenager. But they _didn't _want me. I think I'm nice, you know? I think I'm the kind of daughter that someone would want. Allison's not, but she's so pretty. Maybe that's why they picked her."

"You're prettier than Allison." Matt said off-handedly. "... You should stop thinking about it. I don't think about my parents anymore, so I don't get upset." 

"Matt, you're eight. You're a little too young to be thinking like that." 

"And you're fourteen. You're a little too old to be hiding in your room, crying."

There was an awkward, hungry silence. "... That was really mean, Matt." Misa said, finally. "Really mean." 

Matt decided it would be appropriate to change the subject at this point: "I have a new roommate. He's a problem child."

"You are, too. What's his problem?" Misa's head emerged from the mass of blankets, sheets, and pillows. Her eyes were red from a repetitive cycle of crying and wiping the tears away. 

"He fights a lot, he told me. He ran away from Stephen. ... Can I tell you something, Misa?"

"Sure." Misa was sitting up at this point. She pointed to the vacant side of the bed, indicating that she wanted Matt to sit down beside her. He did, and the two of them leaned back against the headboard. "What do you want to tell me?"

"I... well, it's stupid, I guess, but..."

"Come on, tell me!"

"... I want Stephen to be my dad." Matt admitted, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I really do. I wish he would adopt me." 

Misa gave Matt a warm smile. "I think he would like to be your dad." she said, running her fingers through Matt's messy hair. "But he's really young, you know? And he's not married. Maybe he wouldn't be able to handle it."

"Yeah... Well. I just... I don't know. I guess I shouldn't think about it. I shouldn't get my hopes up or anything."

"Sometimes getting your hopes up is okay. Just as long as you can handle the disappointment you feel afterwards."

Matt rested his head on Misa's shoulder. "I should go back to my room. I need to help get Mihael settled, I guess. Feel better soon, okay?" 

* * *

It was near midnight and the two boys weren't even considering going to sleep. Instead, they were taking turns at fighting a particularly difficult gym leader in Pokemon Red.

"Dammit! Charizard fainted!" Mihael cursed. Matt's eyes widened in shock; Mihael was only nine, but he was using words that his parents rarely ever resorted to. "Aw, don't be such a pansy. Everyone ends up talking like that anyway. I just got a head start. ... You know, I am still entirely pissed that they didn't want to rename me. I want a new name..." 

"I can think you up a new name," Matt offered.

"Okay. Nothing stupid, though. Or boring. Like your name." 

Matt shot Mihael a mean look before brainstorming. 

"You sure are taking long enough." Mihael complained, engaging in battle once again. "Okay, forget about the stupid name. I'm bored. Talk to me. Ask me questions."

"How old are you?"

"Nine. You're eight. I snooped through your files when Mr. Wilson wasn't looking. Your real name is Mail."

Matt was pretty impressed. He took the Gameboy from Mihael and managed to defeat the stupid gym leader that had been torturing their souls for the past thirty minutes. "I kind of liked my name. Mr. Wilson didn't."

"Well. I don't like my name. It was my dad's middle name. Nikolas Mihael Keehl. My name's Mihael Nikolas Keehl. It's stupid. My dad was stupid." 

"You didn't like your dad?" Matt asked, saving his game and shutting the Gameboy off. 

"No. I hated him. I liked my mom enough, I guess. I had a little brother, too... He..." Mihael stopped talking. There were tears framing his eyes. He wiped them away quickly. "I don't want to talk about about it anymore." he said abruptly.

"You don't have to talk about anything." Matt said, shrugging. "We can go to bed."

"Yeah. I want to go bed." Mihael turned down his blankets and jumped under them. 

"You're such a spaz."

"Whatever."

"Can I call you... Mello?" 

"Mello? As in... calm? Chill? Is that your idea of a joke?" 

"Yeah. I guess it is." 

"... Yeah. Yeah, Matt. You can call me Mello. Heh.Isn't that cool? It's kind of like our first inside joke."

Matt turned off the light and climbed into his bed. He smiled; he'd never had an inside joke with anyone before.

* * *

**Notes and stuff**: XD I totally rewrote Mello's introduction, so, yeah. I plan on bringing Linda back into the story sometime soon. If things go as planned, then she's going to have lovecrushes on Mello there for a while. This will **not **turn in Linda x Mello, however. **But, if any of you have any suggestions as far as couples and/or one-time fluffy pairings you would like to see, I will take them into consideration. As long as they're... you know, not weird. **Yay. Thanks for reading, guys. 


	5. your black eye like a badge of honor

Halle had a sister, Miranda.

Miranda was perfect and lovely; Halle couldn't help but despise her at times. She had always made better grades, got the lead in all the school plays, dated all the star football players... and to top it all off, she was now happily married with four kids. That's probably what hurt the most. Miranda had never really showed any particular interest in raising children. Halle did, though.

But Halle couldn't _carry _children. Halle couldn't _get _pregnant. That's what the doctor told her.

That's why her fiance left her. "I don't _want _to adopt some random brat. I want a kid that's mine."

And sure, it had shattered Halle just a little bit, but Stephen had been there for her the whole time. He made everything seem like it was going to be okay, and _why_, Halle would ask herself, _isn't he in love with me, because this is perfect_--

but that would just ruin everything wouldn't it?

Halle was twenty-eight, and she had this fear that her life was going to be over after she hit thirty. She wanted to get married so badly, and Stephen was _there, _and he smiled a lot.

And that made everything _seem like it was going to be okay. _

Halle noted Stephen's ever-increasing fondness of Matt and wondered if he was ever going to adopt the indifferent child. That would make things easy for her, if she married Stephen. _She _wouldn't have to pick a child.

But, was that _wrong_?

Was marrying Stephen the easy way out of everything?

_Why, why, why? _Why had things been so easy for Miranda?

Why were things so _difficult _for Halle?

Get married. Have a child. Raise a family. It shouldn't be that hard.

It was very hard, though.

Her phone went off, piercing through the silence of her home. She had a text message.

_you wanna go out tonight?_

Yes, Stephen, Halle _did _want to go out tonight, but--

_i've got papers to grade. you can come over if you want, though._

Halle flipped through her stack of papers. That new boy-- Mello, he was being called-- was breezing through all the assignments he was given, and she was _amazed. _The conversations she overheard him having with Matt were equally impressive; just today, she heard them off-handedly mentioning _Animal Farm _and it's role as an allegory. "Where did you learn all this?" she asked the boys. Matt simply told her, "I learned it by myself." Mello told her, "My father fancied himself to be a scholar."'

Such strange, strange boys.

Halle's phone went off again--

_i'll be there in a few minutes_, said Stephen's text.

Halle sighed and snapped her phone shut.

* * *

Mello was absolutely exhausted. "I'm going to bed earlier tonight." he said, his voice muffled by the pillow that he had placed over his face.

Matt yawned. "Me, too. You know, it's too bad Linda's been sick. She'd probably like to meet you."

"Linda?"

"Yeah. I'm her... best friend."

"But she's not... _your _best friend?"

"Not really. Is that bad of me?"

"I guess so."

Matt frowned. "I like her and everything. She's really nice. But I think you're my best friend now."

"You're my best friend, too."

Matt grinned; having a best friend was nice. Matt had never really had many friends in England. He didn't talk to many (any) of the other children at his school, because he just wasn't too terribly interested in them. Mello was interesting, though. Not like the kids back in England.

"So, like," Mello started, messing with his hair a little bit. "Your files didn't really say anything about your parents. What's up with that?"

Matt shrugged. "They just don't know what happened, that's all. What happened to your family?"

"None of your business." Mello said, somewhat defensively. He closed the book he was reading and gave Matt a stern glare. "Didn't we already determine that I didn't want to talk about it?"

"What the heck, Mello? You go and ask me about _my _family and then you get all snippy with me when I ask the same question?"

"That's what it looks like, yeah."

"You're so messed up."

Mello's book then soared at Matt's face. "Don't _insult _me." The book hit Matt right on the nose and was promptly thrown back, in which it busted Mello's lip. The two boys were almost instantly on the floor, throwing punches and screaming various insults at each other.

"You're not supposed to _fight back_!" Mello grunted, attempting to get the upper-hand. He grabbed a handful of Matt's hair. "Stop fighting back!"

"That's so stupid!" Matt wailed, rolling over to the right in an attempt to escape from the enraged boy's grasp. His back hit the wall.

"Matt, what's going on in there?" he heard Misa yell at the wall.

"Misa, he's killing me! _Help_!"

As soon as those words left Matt's lift, he received two surprisingly strong punches to the nose. "_Misa_!" he wailed. Mello successfully pinned him down, placing a thin but strong arm against his throat. "You're a basketcase! Misa's going to kill you when she sees you hurting me!"

True to Matt's words, Misa's high-pitched shriek was heard momentarily. "You horrible child, get off of him right now!" she ordered, grabbing Mello around the waist and flinging him a fairly impressive distance across the room. She fell to her knees and pulled Matt into her arms. "Oh, why was he hurting my poor Matty?" she cooed, wiping the blood away from his nose with her shirt.

Matt shrugged. "S'no big deal. He's my best friend, you know."

Mello gave Matt a look of pure shock and maybe a bit of confusion. "I just beat the crap out of your face, and you're still going to be my friend?" he asked, wiping the blood off of his lip. (Matt had thrown a few impressive punches himself.)

"Yeah."

Flopping back on his bed, Mello let out a sigh. "I don't know if that's loyalty or stupidity."

"Probably a bit of both." Misa mumbled, kissing Matt's forehead. "You two stop fighting, okay? Especially if you're best friends, geez. I never wailed on Allison like that."

Matt kissed Misa's hand and she gave him another hug.

"You two calm down and go to bed, okay? No more fighting."

Before making her exit, gave Mello a quick pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah, so, she doesn't totally hate you. That's pretty good." Matt said, joining Mello on his bed.

"I thought she was going to kill me. Like, seriously. When she was throwing my across the room, I half expected her to just start kicking my face in." Mello gave an awkward chuckle. He reached over and wiped the remaining blood off of Matt's face, which he then wiped on Matt's shirt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have thrown my book at you."

"I shouldn't have thrown it back."

"... Yeah. You shouldn't have."

* * *

The next day, Halle watched in pure fascination as the boys argued over the protagonist/antagonist roles of Valjean and Javert, with their black eyes and split lips.

* * *

**notes and stuff**: Okay, this chapter is way short and hopefully not too half-assed, but I really just wanted to give you all an update before I leave for New York! I'll be thinking about this fic the whole time I'm there, I promise. XD  
Please review.  
Seriously, guys.  
_Review_.


	6. watchful eyes of dr tj eckleburg

**pre-story notes, yo. **XD I've been back from New York for, like, ever. It's time to stop being lazy. I'm currently arguing with myself over when I should introduce Near. I already have his intro written, but I don't know where to put it. Blargh. Oh, well. Enjoy!

* * *

Over the next month, Mello and Matt fought quite a bit. Their little fists would fly through the air, Mello would curse and wail, and Misa would always be the one to drag them apart. It was almost a guarantee that she would hurl Mello across the room and immediately start to baby Matt. Mello didn't talk any offense to this. He could see that the relationship Matt and Misa had formed was something that should be left alone.

Gradually, the fights stopped.

Matt started becoming almost entirely submissive in regards to Mello, allowing the older boy to boss him around and insult him. He didn't see any point in putting up a fight anymore-- it took too much effort. Also-- without Misa, Matt would have probably already been dead. There was no stopping Mello when he temper started raging.

Mello liked Matt, he really did. But the line between _friend _and _patsy_ was very thin, very vague.

Linda was in the mix now, wide-eyed and completely crazy over this interesting blonde creature who was now storming the corridors of the House. She followed Mello around with an almost disturbing amount of devotion. He didn't seem to care either way about her-- if she was there, okay; if she wasn't there, okay.

"It's horrible." Katie groaned, peeking through the blinds of Mr. Wilson's office and observing Matt, Misa, Mello and Linda. "It's just strange! There's something wrong with it."

"With _what_?" Mr. Wilson asked, slamming his pen on his desk. He was attempting to make it look like he actually gave a damn about the whereabouts of Matt's parents.

"Those children. That one... Mello, they all call him. Mello. He's, like... I don't even know! He just comes in here and it's like he owns the place! All the others bow to his every fancy... and Matt has been stealing chocolate out of the kitchen for him. Matt's a good boy..."

"Well, I don't know about that..."

"Oh, whatever. It's just odd, the way they all are. Most of the children don't band together like this..."

"So, making friends is bad?"

"_No_, it's just--! Oh, shut up. ... Halle says they're very bright. Matt and Mello, I mean. She's mentioned something about moving them into Light's classes or something... I don't know. She seems to really want to them to be, but she needs you to okay it."

"Hmm."

"Should we?"

Quite frankly, Mr. Wilson didn't care one bit.

* * *

Mello was bored.

Matt was taking longer on his math assignmet than was needed.

"Boys, I have something that I want to ask you." Halle said, kneeling beside their table. "Over the past little bit, I've noticed that the two of you are exceptionally bright. ... You're reading material that I didn't read in high school or even college, and _understanding_ all of it... You grasp these math and science assignments quickly and complete them with no effort at all... I... was wondering if..."

Mello tilted his head slightly. "You want us to have classes with the older kids?" he asked.

"Yes. Exactly."

"Sure."

"No." Matt said simply, sliding his paper to Halle.

"Matt, why--"

"I don't want to."

Mello grabbed Matt's arm. "Look at me. Are you _stupid_? ... No, no, that can't be it, because you're being asked if you want to take advanced classes. So I guess that mean's you're lazy."

"Guess so." Matt shrugged.

"Matt, come on! I don't want to go Mr. Yagami's class by myself!"

Matt glanced at Halle, who was biting her lip.

"Matt, you don't have to switch classes if you don't want to..."

Mello gave Matt a fierce look.

"Well..."

* * *

It was past curfew, but Matt couldn't sleep. Quietly, he snuck out of his room and lightly tapped the door to Misa's.

Misa rubbed her eyes and placed a tired hand on Matt's shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked, yawning.

Matt shrugged. "I don't know, I just... couldn't sleep." he muttered, looking at the floor. "Sometimes it's hard for me to sleep... at night, I guess. I mean, my eyes hurt all the time during the day. So I tend to close them a lot. They don't hurt at night, so I want to keep them open."

Misa's mouth twisted into a frown. Still rubbing her tired eyes, she fumbled around on the dresser she was still sharing with Jeanae. "I found these today in the playroom. I meant to give them to you earlier, but yeah."

She handed Matt a pair of tinted goggles.

"Thanks..." Matt muttered, putting them on and pulling them to the top of his head. "Thanks. Miss Lidner wants me to take advanced classes. I said okay... You know, because Mello's, like, a genius, and he's going, too."

"Do you want to take them?"

"... I'm fine either way, I guess."

"Are you taking them because Mello wants you to?"

"Guess so."

"That's not good, Matt. You should make your own decisions."

"Nah. I'm fine with Mello making them for me."

* * *

"You should eat your breakfast, Mello!" Linda bubbled, pushing the untouched plate towards the sulking boy. "You have a big day ahead of you, with your new classes and all..."

Though she was attempting to be supportive, Matt could tell that Linda was hurt by the fact that her two best friends were leaving her. She toyed with her hair a bit and watched Mello refuse to even touch his food.

"I'm not hungry." Mello said after several minutes of awkward silence.

The bell rang and Linda obediantely scooped up everyone's plates to take to the carts.

"Where's Misa?" Mello asked, adjusting his shirt.

Matt shrugged and tried to pretend like he didn't miss her. "I haven't seen her all morning... When I knocked on her door, no one answered. I visited her last night and it didn't seem like she was sick or--"

"Well, if she's alright then she'll be in class today. Let's hurry up before we're late."

Matt didn't even care when Mello cut him off mid-sentence anymore. In a way, he figured it kind of proved their friendship. Mello always knew what Matt was going to say, so there was no need for Matt to even say it. That was a good thing, right? The two boys walked silently to Light's classroom. Matt felt somewhat intimidated by the older kids. Mello, he was sure, didn't.

"Misa!" Matt called, spotting a slumping mass of blonde hair near the front of the room. She turned around and gave Matt a huge grin. "Where have you been? You missed breakfast and everything."

Patrick turned to Matt as well. "She was with me, little man." he said, sliding a protective arm around Misa's shoulders. "All night long."

Mello made a face. Matt didn't quite understand.

"Well, boys, I'm glad that you've decided to join us!" Light said, as if he knew that it would be best to bring the current conversation to a halt. "My class is significantly smaller than Miss Lidner's, you see, what with all the children growing old enough to leave..." He cast a cold look in Patrick's direction. "... But anyway, let's set you two right up here in the front and get you caught up on the lesson plan!"'

The class was currently studying _The Great Gatsby_, which had been one of Matt's mother's favorite movies.

"This is a fantastic piece of literature. Miss Lidner tells me that the two of you have been reading literary works far beyond the level that you were currently being taught, so I assume that you will enjoy this very much. As for Mathematics, right now, we're--"

And then Matt started tearing up, hugging his copy of that fantastic piece of Jazz Age literature to his chest, and _crying _and the air suddenly felt very heavy for everyone. "My mom," he choked out. "My mom..." But he couldn't bring himself to form any kind of sentence.

Light looked as if he didn't exactly know how to react to a crying child. Mello reached a shaking, nervous hand out to touch Matt's shoulder, but Misa beat him to the punch, shaking away from Patrick and wrapping her arms around Matt's shaking form. "It's okay, it's okay..."

"Pssht, no, it's not! The kid's been here for months now. Why's he crying _now_?" Patrick scoffed, tugging at the back of Misa's shirt.

"Because he didn't cry when he got here..." Light muttered, shooting Patrick a harsh glare. "Why don't you go fetch Katie for me, Patrick?"

Patrick obliged, making a loud exit.

* * *

Matt's soft crying fit had turned into hysterics soon enough. Not knowing what else to do, Katie frantically dialed Stephen's number. "Jesus, are you busy?"

"Well, I'm having a sick day, but... Uhm, what's wrong?"

"It's _Matt_! We can't get the boy to stop crying!"

"I'll be right over."

And he was.

"Hey, Matt... Hey, there..."

Matt's tears were collecting in the bottom of his goggles which he hadn't even bothered to take off. Stephen lifted the goggles off of Matt's face gently and quickly dried the tears with his sleeve.

"You gotta tell me what happened, okay?"

"N-nothing happened, I just-- my mom used to watch _The Great Gatsby _all the time, and she would listen to the book on tape, you know... I--"

Light gave Stephen a wide-eyed _I didn't know, I didn't know, I swear _look and Stephen gave Light an _It's okay, It's okay _smile.

"I see, I see... "

Matt latched onto Stephen's waist and cried into his shirt.

"It's normal, Matt. I promise you. It's normal to cry over your parents. I'm actually a bit relieved that you're displaying a bit of--" Stephen started, but he stopped himself. He didn't think it would be right to tell a children that they were disturbingly apathetic. "This is going to be good for you in the long run. You're still adjusting. It's normal, I promise."

Mello gave Matt an awkward pat on the back. Awkward, but loving just the same. "You don't have to take this class just because I am. Seriously. You're just eight. You shouldn't be reading about the American dream anyway. Neither should I. We don't have to do anything that's going to upset you."

Matt's ears turned red. He didn't really enjoy all the pity.

Stephen lifted Matt's tiny body up so that they were at eye level. "Don't be ashamed... okay? This was probably really good for you. See? You're calming down already."

"We can go to church on Sunday if you want to..." Mello suggested. "God knows you're unhappy, so you have to talk to Him so He can fix it."

"How does He know?" Matt asked. His parents had never forced the idea of religion on him, so he wasn't quite familiar with the concept of an all-knowing God.

"Because God is sees everything."

Matt gave Mello a curious sort of look.

"Like the watchful eyes of Dr. T.J. Eckleburg." Light said quiety, knowing that Matt would understand.

Matt understood.

Matt didn't like it.

Matt cried for the rest of the day.

* * *

**notes and stuff: **A little shout-out to one of my favorite books of all time, and also an introduction to a theme that's going to be prominent with Matt's character: a cynical nature, a lack of faith, and distrust in all religion. I, myself, am a Christian, and should hope that no statement made on religion throughout the course of this fanfiction offends anyone. Review, lovelies.


End file.
